Should I get a Sulcata? -New to the forum and questions

Tom

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Dayton? As in Ohio? Not a good place for a giant tropical reptile that needs a huge enclosure. I know you think you are going to move soon, but life has a way of changing, and especially so when you are only 18. Our country is in for a wild ride between covid and the current election controversy. No one knows what is going to happen in the next few moths or years. This being the case, I think you should wait to get a sulcata until you are actually living in a more suitable climate and have the space and the means to care for a giant destructive reptile that needs HUGE heated spaces.

If you want a tortoise right now, get a species that is more manageable in your climate and with your space and other limitations. There are many other species that you could work with that are much more manageable.
 

Tom

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Too late to add to my previous comment, but if you DO decide to get a tortoise, of any species, set up the enclosure well ahead of time. Set it all up, lights, heating, substrate, everything, and run it for a few days. Check it early and often and make needed adjustments, bulb swaps, and all other changes BEFORE you bring home a tortoise or order one. Properly started babies are easy if housed correctly. If you house them wrong and have to make adjustments with them in the enclosure, this is a huge set back for them. Get a tortoise enclosure BEFORE you get a tortoise.
 

queen koopa

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Oh my goodness, I can imagine how that would be anxiety inducing! That sounds awful! Working on that TempStick that will alert you is a super great idea! I hope it works out for you!
Thank you so much for explaining what winters may be like for me if I don't move in time! I hope to be out of here before it gets to be a problem, but if not, I will definitely have to make plans! My current winter plan is to use a sun-room off the side of my house, which is already heated. Obviously not a long term plan, but hopefully it will never come to that. Thank you so much for replying!
You are welcome! I love my Sulcata very much, she is not the nicest ???

I just wanted to add a note that my area actually has mild winters, just extremely windy. Anywhere the temps drop below 55-50F Sulcatas should be locked in at night so they don’t go out and burrow and also to save your heat in the shed/night box. There’s a great thread on this forum I’ll find the link, but this member has 3 Sulcatas in Virginia, 2 are old enough to be housed outdoors. I’ll find it and link it. Sooo much good info on providing the right habitats to keep them outdoors all year long.
 

queen koopa

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Here it is!!!
 

KarenSoCal

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I think you should wait until you are finished with college. You're going to spend at least 4 years in a totally new life in college, with all its up and downs. All nighters, cramming for exams, the drama of new friendships, boyfriends, the excitement of being on your own...the list is endless.

But what if you live in a dorm? What would you do with a tortoise that weighs even 25 lbs? If you leave it at your parents' house, you won't be there to watch it grow, and your parents are burdened with its care in the winter.

College life does not match up with a huge turtle that needs daily care. Even a small tortoise requires more attention than you are going to want to give it once you are into the swing of school life. Plus, you won't have the money for vet care. Torts are expensive!

Wait until you are settled after school, have a job, and a suitable home for a tort. I really believe you'll be glad you waited.
 

ErinH

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At first I wanted to chime in and say that no one can predict accurately the next 60 years of their lives. So when people say you should be completely and unquestionably "prepared," that seems a little unrealistic. Even the most well prepared people have life changing events or opportunities that they never saw coming.

Are you willing to learn, change, make life decisions based on your pet? Are you willing to pass up that perfect apartment to keep searching for a house that allows pets and will let you keep a pet that can bulldoze through drywall? What if you get the opportunity to travel abroad for college? Travel at all?

I got a pot bellied pig when I was 21. I had him for the entirety of his 17 years and he was my favorite part of life to this day. I wouldn't have traded him for anything. That being said. I had to pass up living situations. I had to sneak him into apartments until I was asked to leave. I had to only live in towns with vets that had ANY experience with pet pigs vs. Farm pigs. I couldn't go on vacations. I had to build him a ramp into my car because dog ramps wouldn't hold his weight. Finding pet sitters was impossible. Eventually, getting him into my car was a 2 person job. I researched until the cows came home before I got him. I swore my life was going to go one way, and it went 20 others.

If you are willing to grow and learn with your pet, and you're dedicated to providing for them whatever it takes, don't let anyone tell you you need your entire life planned out to even consider it. You just have to realize you'll be making sacrifices and that animal has to be worth those sacrifices.

I guess what I ended up wanting to say is that while no one can predict exactly how their lives are going to go and you should not think you should have to before deciding, my life and decisions from the ages of 21 - 38 were dictated by a pig. Do you want yours defined by a tortoise?
 

Tortisedonk7

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I think you should wait until you are finished with college. You're going to spend at least 4 years in a totally new life in college, with all its up and downs. All nighters, cramming for exams, the drama of new friendships, boyfriends, the excitement of being on your own...the list is endless.

But what if you live in a dorm? What would you do with a tortoise that weighs even 25 lbs? If you leave it at your parents' house, you won't be there to watch it grow, and your parents are burdened with its care in the winter.

College life does not match up with a huge turtle that needs daily care. Even a small tortoise requires more attention than you are going to want to give it once you are into the swing of school life. Plus, you won't have the money for vet care. Torts are expensive!

Wait until you are settled after school, have a job, and a suitable home for a tort. I really believe you'll be glad you waited.

I agree. I had aquarium fish in college and even that with relatively low maintenance was challenging and defined my living/traveling situations. Moving every year to a different dorm or apartment, going home for winter and summer breaks, roommates taunting and at times trying to poison the fish. (Needless to say a lot of fish died) I can't imagine what it would have been like to take care for and lug around a 25lb tort in this time. I'm 32 now and relatively settled (although I'm moving in 6 months) and just got my first tort, even though I've wanted one for a long time!
I understand that everyones situation is different including college. But please consider how the tortoises life would be if it had to move and adapt to a new home all the time.
You wont regret waiting 4-6 years to get that tortoise



At first I wanted to chime in and say that no one can predict accurately the next 60 years of their lives. So when people say you should be completely and unquestionably "prepared," that seems a little unrealistic. Even the most well prepared people have life changing events or opportunities that they never saw coming.

Are you willing to learn, change, make life decisions based on your pet? Are you willing to pass up that perfect apartment to keep searching for a house that allows pets and will let you keep a pet that can bulldoze through drywall? What if you get the opportunity to travel abroad for college? Travel at all?

I got a pot bellied pig when I was 21. I had him for the entirety of his 17 years and he was my favorite part of life to this day. I wouldn't have traded him for anything. That being said. I had to pass up living situations. I had to sneak him into apartments until I was asked to leave. I had to only live in towns with vets that had ANY experience with pet pigs vs. Farm pigs. I couldn't go on vacations. I had to build him a ramp into my car because dog ramps wouldn't hold his weight. Finding pet sitters was impossible. Eventually, getting him into my car was a 2 person job. I researched until the cows came home before I got him. I swore my life was going to go one way, and it went 20 others.

If you are willing to grow and learn with your pet, and you're dedicated to providing for them whatever it takes, don't let anyone tell you you need your entire life planned out to even consider it. You just have to realize you'll be making sacrifices and that animal has to be worth those sacrifices.

I guess what I ended up wanting to say is that while no one can predict exactly how their lives are going to go and you should not think you should have to before deciding, my life and decisions from the ages of 21 - 38 were dictated by a pig. Do you want yours defined by a tortoise?

Well Said! and OMG what a story that must be, toting a fat pig around at that age. LMAO!!!
 

vladimir

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Hi @Mares and welcome. Good for you for doing the homework ahead of time! Sulcatas make amazing pets but they're definitely a challenge, and they grow faster than you plan for.
 

Maggie3fan

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At first I wanted to chime in and say that no one can predict accurately the next 60 years of their lives. So when people say you should be completely and unquestionably "prepared," that seems a little unrealistic. Even the most well prepared people have life changing events or opportunities that they never saw coming.

Are you willing to learn, change, make life decisions based on your pet? Are you willing to pass up that perfect apartment to keep searching for a house that allows pets and will let you keep a pet that can bulldoze through drywall? What if you get the opportunity to travel abroad for college? Travel at all?

I got a pot bellied pig when I was 21. I had him for the entirety of his 17 years and he was my favorite part of life to this day. I wouldn't have traded him for anything. That being said. I had to pass up living situations. I had to sneak him into apartments until I was asked to leave. I had to only live in towns with vets that had ANY experience with pet pigs vs. Farm pigs. I couldn't go on vacations. I had to build him a ramp into my car because dog ramps wouldn't hold his weight. Finding pet sitters was impossible. Eventually, getting him into my car was a 2 person job. I researched until the cows came home before I got him. I swore my life was going to go one way, and it went 20 others.

If you are willing to grow and learn with your pet, and you're dedicated to providing for them whatever it takes, don't let anyone tell you you need your entire life planned out to even consider it. You just have to realize you'll be making sacrifices and that animal has to be worth those sacrifices.

I guess what I ended up wanting to say is that while no one can predict exactly how their lives are going to go and you should not think you should have to before deciding, my life and decisions from the ages of 21 - 38 were dictated by a pig. Do you want yours defined by a tortoise?

What a freakin story! I have so much respect for you right now. Not only for keeping up with a responsibility like a pig in your young life (altho a couple of my husbands were pigs) but partly because you know how to spell, you know how to set up your comments, and you use punctuation.
Anyway I lived the same way. Now I own my own home, it's easier. I'm interested in reading your comments.in the future.I try to visit my sister in Calif which means driving right thru Sacramento. I'm hoping to go meet my new great grandson in the Spring...so look out...lol
 

ErinH

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I agree. I had aquarium fish in college and even that with relatively low maintenance was challenging and defined my living/traveling situations. Moving every year to a different dorm or apartment, going home for winter and summer breaks, roommates taunting and at times trying to poison the fish. (Needless to say a lot of fish died) I can't imagine what it would have been like to take care for and lug around a 25lb tort in this time. I'm 32 now and relatively settled (although I'm moving in 6 months) and just got my first tort, even though I've wanted one for a long time!
I understand that everyones situation is different including college. But please consider how the tortoises life would be if it had to move and adapt to a new home all the time.
You wont regret waiting 4-6 years to get that tortoise





Well Said! and OMG what a story that must be, toting a fat pig around at that age. LMAO!!!

Haha it was definitely hard, but I learned a lot about being responsible for a pet, that's for sure!
 

ErinH

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What a freakin story! I have so much respect for you right now. Not only for keeping up with a responsibility like a pig in your young life (altho a couple of my husbands were pigs) but partly because you know how to spell, you know how to set up your comments, and you use punctuation.
Anyway I lived the same way. Now I own my own home, it's easier. I'm interested in reading your comments.in the future.I try to visit my sister in Calif which means driving right thru Sacramento. I'm hoping to go meet my new great grandson in the Spring...so look out...lol

Ahaha! Anyone who appreciates spelling and punctuation is automatically my friend! That's funny because trying to write responses on my phone is such a pain, and I was SURE I made no sense! ?

That peeg was the love of my life. Maybe because everyone else was popping out kids, and he was mine. He drove across the country with me, lived in multiple places where he always slept next to me, and taught me a lot. My life would have been much easier if I had taken people's advice and rehomed him. But. Pigs become attached to their families, and I was his. Luckily, the last 10 years of his life were in a stable place in a house with a yard. He was a happy old man.

Aw, congrats on your new GG! Definitely hit me up if you come through here!!
 

Chefdenoel10

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Hey, heads up, your tortoise doesn't look very healthy. I am admittedly new to tortoises, but the shell looks pretty dry and I'm concerned about what's going on with it's eyes. But I agree, I am excited to possibly get a tortoise!
Hey, heads up, your tortoise doesn't look very healthy. I am admittedly new to tortoises, but the shell looks pretty dry and I'm concerned about what's going on with it's eyes. But I agree, I am excited to possibly get a tortoise!

it may just be that the tortoises eyes look that way because ...THERE IS A BIG DOG NEXT HIM THINKING ? “LUNCH?”
“Are we having tacos today?”

in no way, shape or form should they be that close to each other. One day there WILL be an “accident”. Mark my words!
Also,
Welcome to the forum where you’ll get GREAT advice from EXPERTS!! ?
And... Merry Christmas!??!!! ?
 

SasquatchTortoise

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I, by no means, am an expert. But I can tell you that around 2-3 years old, they start becoming destructive... Mine Is 3. It is incredible to see her/him walking around the yard and pushing rocks and yard tools like they are feathers. They will try to eat everything, too. Make sure you know what plants are safe and what are unsafe, and keep your yard clear of any pieces of plastic, poop, etc. I might reccomend a Leopard tortoise. They have similar care requirements, but are smaller.
 

Maggie3fan

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I, by no means, am an expert. But I can tell you that around 2-3 years old, they start becoming destructive... Mine Is 3. It is incredible to see her/him walking around the yard and pushing rocks and yard tools like they are feathers. They will try to eat everything, too. Make sure you know what plants are safe and what are unsafe, and keep your yard clear of any pieces of plastic, poop, etc. I might reccomend a Leopard tortoise. They have similar care requirements, but are smaller.
But Leopards are no where near as fun. AND, Mary Knobbins is only about 25 lbs now (don't have an age) but she is already a bulldozer and I have posted her adventures here; oh lordy, that tortoise is gonna be something else when she gets big. but I'll be dead then. haha.
Here's Mary Knobbins attempting to climb a 3.5 foot solid cedar fence. My camera is pointing down at her. What a freakin crack up
100_4857.JPG
 

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